Document yrqoYMnG4aVx9y25k6QrDREK4

Et hyl Gasol ine Corporat ion 25 Br oadway Int er -Office Cor r espondence New Yor k February 18, 1929. Dr. R. A. Kehoe, College of Medicine, Eden & Bethesda Avenues, Cincinnati, Ohio. V 6 E-ear Dr. Xehoe: J On January 28th we shipped 15 drums of ETHYL fluid on a truck to Philadelphia to be loaded aboard/a steamer of the Quaker Line to be forwarded to the Associated Oil Company of Califorrua. When this truck reached the Camden bridge connecting Camden and Philadelphia he iTas arrested by a policeman who took him. to the station house and turned him over to two- federal officers who suspected him of having liquor on the truck. The truckman communicated with John Schaefer who talked to the captain of the police station and told, him of the poisonous nature of ETHYL fluid and this man promised to see that no sampled were tasen. However, the two agents went ahead, regardless of this advice, and their first thought was to syphon a sample of the content of one of the drums but they could not get a hose to do this, fortunately. They then secured a Coca-Cola bottle, tied a cord around the neck, dropped the bottle into the drum, took hold of the bottle which, of'course, was wet on the outside with their bare hands and transferred the content into a larger bottle which they took to the laboratory of the Federal Administration Offices. They slopped the fluid all over the sides of the drum but we were able to catch it before it went on the steamer and sent one'of our men to Philadelphia to clean up this spillage. When the chemist at the Federal laboratory received the sample he said he knew it was poisonous and poured it d o TM the sink. - One of the agents, Mr. L. Logan, whose headquarters are at Philadelphia, said that his hands were completely stained red.for a period of two days and that he did not take any precaution whatsoever to wash off the fluid in any way. The other agent, Mr. 1^. F. Graber, said he also "got some of the red stuff on his hands but thought nothing of ajt". ' John Schaefer suggests that it might be advisable for you to send one of your assistants to Philadelphia to examine these two men. Do you think this is necessary. K 0000692 We have interviewed Colonel Wynne, Prohibition Administrator, and Mr. Butler, Chief of the Alcohol Division of the Philadelphia District, in addition to Commissioner Mills, Superintendent of the Bureau of Police in Philadelphia, and made arrangements with all of these gentlemen that drums of ETHYL fluid will not be touched in the future by anyone. ! k I would appreciate your comments on this general situation. Of course, it is a most high-handed procedure and entirely unwarranted.